How to Clean a Instant Pot

How to Clean a Instant Pot: Learn the ways to clean it: Just like everything else is revolutionizing, so is the kitchen appliances. So, the makers have brought to us the Instant Pot. Before we go further into the topic of how to clean an Instant Pot, it is necessary to tell you what an Instant Pot is. As there are, many who still have not heard of the product and the services it provides us within the kitchen.

How to Clean a Instant Pot?

How to Clean a Instant Pot

What is an Instant Pot?

The Instant Pot is a smart multi-use, programmable pressure cooker, which designed by the Canadians with an objective to provide convenient, dependable and safe cooking in the kitchen. Apart from which, the Instant Pot lives by the name of it by providing users with beneficial services. The basic concept of the product is to speed up cooking by 2x to 6x times using up to 70% less energy than the traditional pressure cooker. Above all, cooking in the Instant Pot not only saves time and energy it also aides to produce nutritious and healthy food. The process of preparing a meal with an Instant Pot is quite subtle and convenient. The product promises consistency with it additional features that no other product can provide.

If you are to notice carefully, the advertisements of the product mention distinctly about the product eliminating seven other kitchen appliances. It boasts of a 7-in-1 feature as a kitchen appliance that not only is a pressure cooker but much more than it is since a user can do a lot more with it. The Instant Pot has the ability to act as not only a pressure cooker but also few other different kitchen appliances to prepare a meal. For example, the Instant Pot is the perfect appliance to prepare a sauté meat dish. It can replace the rice cooker, an electric yogurt maker, a slow cooker, a steam cooker, etc. There are sixteen settings buttons on the housing that need a little pre-set after which one can do the needful to sauté their meat.

How does the Instant Pot work?

The product, Instant Pot, is equipped with a special lid, which fits perfectly against the pot. When a meal is being prepared, a pressure builds up inside the device, which causes a pressure to form. It happens because there is a sealed lid covering the opening with water boiling inside. This creates an air pressure by forming strong vapor or steam inside the pot. This way the product saves time by preparing a meal in lesser time as compared to the traditional pressure cooker and pots that are slow and consumes a lot of energy and time.

If you are to purchase an Instant Pot, few things that are guaranteed by it:

First, it cooks food up to 70% faster than the usual.

Second, easy to use as it has one-touch controllers.

Third, the Instant Pot is a smart appliance for your kitchen. It remembers the way you cook.

Fourth, preparing a meal in the Instant Pot, which has a stainless cooker coating, keeps the food healthy and chemical free.

Lastly, the product saves energy much more than any other cooking appliance.

Now that we have acknowledged you about the Instant Pot and its features, it is time to get down on the topic. As for now, we are sure anyone who knows about it would love to have one for them self. The product is very promising and yields efficient results. Therefore, it would be no surprise if you were to head down to the store to get one for your home.

Now, using an Instant Pot is easy and we already know about its great features. The question that arises is how to clean them. Every kitchen appliance has their ways of working and cleaning process. Similarly, the Instant Pot to has its way. One will have to go methodically in order to clean it up, part by part.

Inner Pot

The first thing that requires cleaning is the inner pot. The inner pot is made of food-grade stainless steel. The thing that distinguishes it from the conventional pot is, it has a non-stick coating. Which is why cleaning this inner pot separately is a good practice. One can manually wash the inner pot by their hands or wash it in a dishwasher. Keep in mind to cool the pot before cleaning and avoid using any harsh to no scrubbers. By using which, it could leave scratches on the surface. After washing, dry the pot by wiping it, as it will prevent any mold or unpleasant smell.

Exterior Pot

The exterior pot is located underneath the inner pot. During cooking, small food particles and moisture gets inside the exterior pot and cause an unpleasant odor to accumulate. One must first wash and then wipe the inside of the container with a damp cloth/tissue. Make sure the pot is well dried after it has been washed or dampened. To remove the grease if any, it is advisable to use baking soda, as it acts as a good cleaning agent on metals.

Outside of the Pot

Being careful while preparing a meal is quite a skillful task. Cooking involves risks as there are fire and electronic devices involved with it. No matter how careful a person is, no one can stop the inevitable, the basis of which is the overflowing of the liquids when overheated. This is where science works and one can just alter the consequences not prevent it permanently. Therefore, one must keep the exterior of the pot clean and dry by proper means like wet wipes, cloth, and damp tissues. Now, the exterior of the pot hosts the cookers processor. It is necessary for us to be careful and not let moisture get into it. If it happens so, unplug the device, dry all the wet parts with a dry towel and use a hair dryer if needed to dry the insides where a cloth cannot reach. Note that the Instant Pot needs to stay switched OFF for at least a day before it is switched back ON for further use.

Lid

To clean the lid, first remove it carefully and detach the sealing ring and the anti-block shield. This way, one can access the inner parts of the lid. Then, clean the lid thoroughly with a liquid dish gel and a soft microfiber or a cotton cloth. After that dry, the parts properly and use dry cloth (cotton cloth) for better absorption of water/moisture. One can keep their devices from smelling or staying dirtier by cleaning it that way.

Steam Release Valve

In an Instant Pot, the steam release valve allows the cooker to release excess steam accumulating inside the pot. One can get access to it by removing the anti-block shield from the underside of the lid. It is to bring to your notice that one can never remove the steam valve itself. Usually, the parts of it do not require washing. However, if you are to cook plenty of oily meals that accumulate grease it is highly recommended to clean the steam valve as oil sticks to it. One can rinse the steam valve under hot water from time to time to get rid of the access oil that collects there.

Sealing Ring

The sealing ring, also known as the Gasket, is what seals the cooker airtight and prevents air from entering or leaving the cooker when the meal is being prepared. A silicon ring tends to retain unpleasant odors. Therefore, it’s recommended that one should thoroughly clean any food residues off the sealing ring after a meal has been prepared. It can be cleaned, by washing it in a dishwasher or else one can manually clean it. It is advisable to soak the sealing ring in a vinegar solution to get rid of any excess odor or grease. Do note that the Instant Pot has a steam clean mode that can be used to clean the sealing ring or Gasket. Simply add two cups of water with lemon juice or one can also add vinegar to it (inside the inner pot). Then switch on the ‘steam’ mode of the Instant Pot and set it to a couple of minutes. When done, let the sealing ring dry (wipe it or Air Dry it).

Float Valve

The silicone ring holds the float valve in place. In order to wash the silicon ring, it is necessary to remove the silicon ring (also known as the Gasket or Sealing ring). After the cleaning has been completed, dry the silicon ring by wiping it with a cotton cloth or dry tissue. When the cleaning and drying process is complete, reattach the silicon ring to the cooker the way it was in the first place.

It is highly advisable for users to clean the Instant Pot after it has been used to avoid any dirt or a bad odor to form. Keeping the device clean will not only help prevent infestation of microorganisms, it will also help the device to last longer than usual. The small, intricate parts of the Instant Pot require more attention as it requires skillful cleaning to it. It is obvious that the cleaning process will take some time. Nevertheless, it is important to have a good, clean and efficient device to prepare a meal than doing it in an unhygienic way.